HUL is following the path we set for them: Baba Ramdev

FILE PHOTO: On why Baba Ramdev hates multinationals and wants to beat them every time on his home turf of ayurved FMCG at their own game.Baba Ramdev is not one to mince his words. In this interview with ET Magazine, he spoke about why he hates multinationals and loves to beat them at their own game. Edited excerpts:

Why do you hate MNCs in India?

There is nothing personal but the fundamental reason for the strong dislike towards them is the way they have been exploiting the country. They make millions here but don't spend much on the welfare and charity of the people of this country. Look at us, most of the money that we make goes back into the country as charity. We plan to spend at least `10,000 crore in opening schools across the country. The day when MNCs like HUL and Nestle allocate even 25% of their earning towards the welfare and charity of the people, I will shut down operations. It is not possible for them.

Your rivals were initially dismissive about you and your products...

It has worked in our favour. It is always better to be an underdog.

But aren't you underestimating their might and taking them lightly now?

No. I am not. What makes me confident, and my rivals would call me overconfident, is the love of millions of Indians towards me and our products. It is people who decide about the size of the market and not the companies. It is again people who make the brands, not the marketing done by the companies. It is only now that we have started advertising, and that too on a small scale. We have grown on the back of word of mouth, and the quality of our product has delivered for us.

Hindustan Unilever (HUL) plans to revive its herbal/ayurvedic brand to take on Patanjali products...

We are not scared of competition. In fact, an interesting thing about HUL is that globally it is known as a food brand, but in India it is known for soaps and shampoos. But soon our soap, shampoo and detergent brands will eclipse their products. HUL has not been able to win the trust of Indians in terms of its food offerings. And the biggest advantage that we have over HUL is that our herbal/ayurvedic products are thousand times more superior than any global brand, and Patanjali products have top-of-the-mind recall and trust of the Indians. We have been in this sector and they are now entering it. So they are following us.

There must be some misunderstanding on their part. Our atta noodles are absolutely legal, healthy, safe and have cleared all regulatory approvals, including one from FSSAI. "Ye hava main noodle nahin ban gaya (It's not made out of thin air). We have followed every guideline set by FSSAI and have flouted no norms. We will clarify with them as soon as possible.